As Israel approaches what is frequently described as one of the most consequential elections in its history, key external and security policies have largely become points of consensus among the frontrunning candidates. Major contenders have generally supported aggressive military campaigns in Gaza following the October 2023 attacks, as well as subsequent regional conflicts, while showing little alignment toward reviving a two-state solution or pursuing an equitable settlement with the Palestinians.
Instead, the core divisions defining the campaign focus on internal governance and the future character of the state. The choice before voters often emerges as a contest between the hard-right administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which seeks to govern without traditional judicial oversight, and a fragmented opposition coalition that proposes a similar policy trajectory operating strictly within established legal boundaries.
Regarding the Palestinian issue and the prospect of a two-state framework, political leaders have offered largely dismissive or divergent perspectives. Prime Minister Netanyahu has explicitly rejected the establishment of a Palestinian state, declaring that the territory belongs to Israel. Similarly, Yashar party figure Gadi Eisenkot and Religious Zionist party leader Bezalel Smotrich have rejected the two-state paradigm, with Smotrich advocating for the formal cancellation of the Oslo Accords and the encouragement of migration from Gaza and the West Bank. Conversely, The Democrats leader Yair Golan argues that while a sudden leap to a two-state solution is currently unrealistic given national trauma, the country should pursue a strategy centered on civil separation and retained security responsibility.
The conscription of the expanding ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, population into the military has emerged as another deeply contentious domestic issue amid rising human and economic tolls from ongoing wars. Netanyahu relies heavily on ultra-Orthodox coalition partners such as Shas and United Torah Judaism, who demand legal protections shielding seminary students from the draft. While Netanyahu has defended efforts to protect yeshiva students and criticized recent arrests of draft avoiders, opponents have seized on the issue. Gadi Eisenkot framed the election as a choice between Netanyahu's draft-dodging administration and a government focused on universal conscription, and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Liberman asserted that Netanyahu remains politically captive to draft evaders.
The debate over judicial reform further highlights the deep domestic polarization of the electorate. Following years of controversy over government efforts to curb judicial powers and alter the appointment of judges, the current coalition has advanced measures that strip the attorney general of various powers and marginalize the chief justice. Critics view these moves as a direct assault on democratic institutions by a leader facing ongoing corruption allegations, whereas Justice Minister Yariv Levin has championed the election as a historic opportunity to complete the judicial overhaul process.